Attack

Faced with this sudden ambush, Naruto appeared unusually composed.

He didn't panic. Instead, he stood with a nearly languid posture, hands still casually shoved in his pockets, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

In Sasuke's eyes, Naruto's behavior seemed bizarre. He stood frozen, not moving a muscle against the attack, just grinning foolishly. Sasuke thought to himself, this kid must be scared stiff.

In that critical moment, Sasuke leaped up, his shuriken flying like lightning, precisely intercepting the two ninjas' assault.

He twisted his body, landing steadily on the two ninjas' shoulders, legs spread, and kicked them both flying.

The two ninjas were horrified. They never expected Sasuke to pin their chains to a tree with shuriken, not only breaking their attack but also sending them flying.

At such a young age, with such strength—truly a genius.

In contrast, that blond kid stood frozen in place, unable to move. The difference was clear.

The two ninjas kicked away by Sasuke stumbled in the air before quickly steadying themselves.

Their eyes sharp, they didn't hesitate to drop the chains they held.

Then, the two ninjas split up. One moved like a cheetah, lunging straight at Naruto; the other blurred toward Tazuna at astonishing speed.

As assassination specialists, they had high professional standards: take out the weakest fighter and the mission target Tazuna first, then deal with the dark-haired boy slowly. That was their optimal tactic.

But in that critical moment, Sasuke flew in, blocking Sakura and Tazuna. The ninja charging Tazuna frowned but didn't slow his pace.

The ninja rushing Naruto, however, grew irritated. The yellow-haired brat in front of him still hadn't moved. Was he scared stiff, or blind?

"Since you won't defend, then die, you little shit!" the ninja cursed viciously, claws poised to strike.

Both ninjas reached Sasuke and Naruto simultaneously, about to pierce through their chests the next second.

Then, "thump, thump"—two sounds rang out.

Kakashi's figure appeared like a phantom on the battlefield, a flash of movement bringing him before the two ninjas.

He used no ninjutsu, relying solely on exquisite taijutsu. His hands became twin blurs, striking both enemies' vital points with precision.

Two bodies crumpled to the ground, everything happening in the blink of an eye.

Naruto looked at Kakashi with some emotion. He noticed Kakashi was a lot like himself in his past life—always showing up at the critical moment, letting students unlock their potential through real combat instead of just shielding them.

Sakura, hiding behind, finally broke into a smile. She cheered, "Kakashi-sensei, you're alive!"

Sasuke muttered insincerely, "Stealing the spotlight..."

Naruto also spoke in the tone he remembered: "Kakashi-sensei, you're actually alive!"

Kakashi shot Naruto a meaningful glance. He wondered silently—he'd clearly seen the ninja's claws strike Naruto, so why was he completely unharmed?

"Must have misjudged. Naruto wasn't hit," Kakashi thought to himself, then said, "Naruto, sorry I couldn't save you right away. You almost got hurt. But I didn't expect you to just stand there."

To everyone else, Naruto really did look like he'd been scared stiff, frozen in place. Kakashi couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. Tazuna, however, breathed a sigh of relief—looked like he was saved.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto, thinking to himself, "Naruto really is a dead last. All he does is yell. In a real fight, he's worse than Sakura." Then he said contemptuously, "You hurt? Coward."

Faced with Sasuke's taunt, Naruto mostly felt helpless.

This kid really reminded him of his past-life disciple, Fushiguro Megumi—brilliant but insincere.

In his past life, he hadn't been able to save his disciple. Seeing someone so similar, the soul of Gojo Satoru inside Naruto felt a bit dazed.

He ignored Sasuke's mockery, smiled, and waved his hand. "Not hurt at all."

In truth, the ninja's claws had already reached Naruto under normal circumstances, but protected by the Infinity Technique, they could never touch him. The closest distance was also the farthest.

Seeing Naruto's expression now, Sasuke's brows furrowed deeply. "What's wrong with this guy today? Did he really get scared stupid?" he thought.

Just then, Kakashi looked seriously at Tazuna and said, "Tazuna-san, I have some questions for you."

Tazuna froze, looking flustered. "Wh... what is it?"

Kakashi continued, "I have some doubts about this mission. A C-rank mission involving two Chunin from Kirigakure, targeting you for assassination—that doesn't add up. I hope you can give us a reasonable explanation."